Hello everyone, I'm genuinely curious as to what stage of meringue is the one you usually employ for succesful macarons. I'm no professional baker, tried making macarons a year ago and failed miserably. Recently I decided to give it another go, and after 10 or so failed batches, I just made a succesful one (no hollows, completely smooth beautiful macarons with feet).
I did make quite some experimentation, I have tried all three meringue methods (while im no pro, I believe I have leant to make them decently); experimented with different brands of almond flour, carton eggs, fresh eggs, cream of tartar, egg powder, etc. Also i have a cheap, regular gas oven which made things a little difficult but finally got the hang of it. Tried baking on silicone mats, parchment mats, etc. What I found is the following:
There are a million different recipes online, each with different ratios and techniques. I have found that for macarons there REALLY isnt a one size fits all recipe to follow, because you really have to adapt to your own environment, utensils and so on.
Lately I have seen many tutorials from people who vary their meringue stage – I have seen a few who only go for firm peaks, not stiff, which really bedazzles me as most books I have read on the matter ask for STIFF peaks.
Some macaronage until they get a rather fluid batter, while others undermix, and just tap their macarons into smooth surfaces.
So basically, everyone is doing their own thing and getting good results. In my case, Im at 4000 meters above sea level, winter, with temps of 5°c average and humidity of 50-70%. I mention this because I think it is greatly affecting my meringue – I really have to beat for over 30 minutos to get to a good stiff peak, and it does take very long to even start to whip up. Cream of tartar helps a lot. So all this time, I thought I was actually over whipping my meringue (even though it only ever reached firm peaks), because I saw many commented that they reached stiff peaks in less than 10 minutes. Yesterday I really made sure to beat that meringue until stiff peaks, and I finally got no hollows.
So, what kind of stage works for you? im very curious to hear if anybody else lives in similar conditions to mine, and if it has affected their macarons likewise
by DramaPill
8 Comments
I personally aim for a soft peak. Enough that my meringue is room temp, glossy, and still flexible.
Soft peaks
Last one for me. As stiff as I can get it.
Stiff for French. I believe you can go softer for Italian and Swiss but I only make French
Stiff peaks, standing upright for me & once the egg whites start to clump in the whisk.
Agreed, there are so many recipes out there & little tricks that people owe their macaron success to, but honestly I have found that it really just takes tweaking of different techniques to see what works for you, your environment, supplies, & oven.
stiff works best for me – right after it stops being soft peaks
I go for something between soft and stiff…but closer to stiff. I get my meringue to a point where when u lift it, the top of the peak curls ever so slightly, while the rest of the body stays stiff.
I reach stiff peaks in 5 min! 😂
I whip room temp egg whites until they’re super foamy and add all the granulated sugar at once. Then I whip on med/high for 2-3 min, add food coloring and whip on high for 1 min and done!
I’m 18 meters above sea level.